Imogen Holly Aird (born 18 May 1969) is an English television actress known for playing forensic pathologist Frankie Wharton in the
BBC1
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
drama series ''
Waking the Dead'', having previously starred in productions such as ''
Soldier Soldier
''Soldier Soldier'' is a British television drama series. The title comes from a traditional song of the same name - "Soldier, soldier won't you marry me, with your musket, fife and drum?" - an instrumental version of which was used as its t ...
'' and the 1997 film ''
Fever Pitch
''Fever Pitch: A Fan's Life'' is a 1992 autobiographical essay by British author Nick Hornby. The book is the basis for two films: '' Fever Pitch'' (1997, UK) and '' Fever Pitch'' (2005, U.S.). The first edition was subtitled "A Fan's Life", bu ...
'' alongside
Colin Firth
Colin Andrew Firth (born 10 September 1960) is an English actor and producer. He was identified in the mid-1980s with the " Brit Pack" of rising young British actors, undertaking a challenging series of roles, including leading roles in '' A M ...
.
Early life
Aird was born in
Aldershot
Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...
,
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
. She was spotted by a casting director at age nine whilst at Bush Davies Ballet School and starred in the 1980 dramatisation of the
H. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells["Wells, H. G."]
Revised 18 May 2015. ''The History of Mr Polly
''The History of Mr. Polly'' is a 1910 comic novel by H. G. Wells.
Plot summary
The protagonist of ''The History of Mr. Polly'' is an antihero inspired by H. G. Wells's early experiences in the drapery trade: Alfred Polly, born circa 1 ...
''. In 1981 she portrayed the young Elspeth Huxley
Elspeth Joscelin Huxley CBE (née Grant; 23 July 1907 – 10 January 1997) was an English writer, journalist, broadcaster, magistrate, environmentalist, farmer, and government adviser. She wrote over 40 books, including her best-known lyric ...
in the television adaptation of the latter's autobiographical book ''The Flame Trees of Thika
''The Flame Trees of Thika'' is a British television serial of seven 50-minute episodes made by Euston Films for Thames Television in 1981. It was adapted by John Hawkesworth from the 1959 book of the same title by Elspeth Huxley, and is set i ...
''.
Career
In 1981 she portrayed Elspeth Huxley
Elspeth Joscelin Huxley CBE (née Grant; 23 July 1907 – 10 January 1997) was an English writer, journalist, broadcaster, magistrate, environmentalist, farmer, and government adviser. She wrote over 40 books, including her best-known lyric ...
in ''The Flame Trees of Thika
''The Flame Trees of Thika'' is a British television serial of seven 50-minute episodes made by Euston Films for Thames Television in 1981. It was adapted by John Hawkesworth from the 1959 book of the same title by Elspeth Huxley, and is set i ...
''. In 1982 she starred as the young Beatrix Potter
Helen Beatrix Potter (, 28 July 186622 December 1943) was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist. She is best known for her children's books featuring animals, such as ''The Tale of Peter Rabbit'', which was he ...
in ''The Tale of Beatrix Potter''. She was seen in ''The Happy Valley
''The Happy Valley'' is a British television drama, first shown on BBC1 on 6 September 1987 in the ''Sunday Premiere'' strand. It was written by David Reid, directed by Ross Devenish, and produced by Cedric Messina. It stars Holly Aird as Ju ...
'' in 1987 with Denholm Elliott
Denholm Mitchell Elliott, (31 May 1922 – 6 October 1992) was an English actor, with more than 125 film and television credits. His well-known roles include the abortionist in ''Alfie'' (1966), Marcus Brody in ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (1981 ...
, in which she played a schoolgirl in Kenya
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in the 1930s. As well as small parts in various television series, Aird became known for playing Nancy Thorpe/Garvey in ''Soldier Soldier
''Soldier Soldier'' is a British television drama series. The title comes from a traditional song of the same name - "Soldier, soldier won't you marry me, with your musket, fife and drum?" - an instrumental version of which was used as its t ...
''. In 2000 she starred as Frankie Wharton in '' Waking the Dead''. Aird has done voiceover for various BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
natural history projects (including ''Wild Mallorca'') as well as various TV advertisements. In 2007 she played a
clinical psychologist in
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
's drama 'Secret Life' and in 2009 took a leading role in
Talkback Thames
Talkback Thames (stylised as talkbackTHAMES) was a British television production company, a division of Fremantle (part of the RTL Group, which in turn is owned by Bertelsmann). It was formed by the merger of Talkback Productions and Thames Tel ...
's ''
Monday Monday
''Monday Monday'' is an ITV, UTV comedy drama. It stars Fay Ripley, Jenny Agutter, Neil Stuke, Holly Aird, Morven Christie, Tom Ellis, and Miranda Hart.
It is set in the head office of a supermarket that has fallen on hard times and had to r ...
''.
Family
Aird has two children, Joseph (with
James Purefoy
James Brian Mark Purefoy (born 3 June 1964) is an English actor. He played Mark Antony in the HBO series ''Rome'', Nick Jenkins in ''A Dance to the Music of Time'', college professor turned serial killer Joe Carroll in the series ''The Following ...
)
[Farndale, Nigel (2011)]
James Purefoy interview
, ''Daily Telegraph
Daily or The Daily may refer to:
Journalism
* Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks
* ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times''
* ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...
'', 13 June 2011. Retrieved 21 August 2018 and Nelly (with husband Toby Merritt, who is a freelance photographer).
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
BBC Biography*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aird, Holly
1969 births
Living people
Actors from Aldershot
English film actresses
English television actresses
Actresses from Hampshire
20th-century English actresses
21st-century English actresses